Month: October 2010

We have a seriesof very important contests coming up for our local bands, but the way the groups will be graded are not at all similar. Let's take a look at how each is done.

Regional marching Contest uses a system of division ratings that we are all familiar with. Division I is the highest score and denotes a 'Superior' performance. A 'II' means 'Excellent'. 'III' denotes 'Average', a 'IV' means 'Below Average' and a 'V' would signal 'Poor'.

These rating are given by a 3-judge panel, who use a scoring rubric to rate each group on several sub-captions including TONE, MUSICIANSHIP, MARCHING, and DRILL/INTEGRATION OF COMPONENTS. There are indicators in each rubric box the judges can refer to in order to assign a rating. Using the rubric, the scores should be fairly consistent, although personal taste, where physically the judge is, and what in particular a judge is looking or listening for, will all come in to play, which is why there are 3 of them.

Once the 3 judges have given their scores, a final rating is assigned. Hopefully the scores all match, but if they do not there is a guide for dealing with this. In simplest terms, majority rules. A 1,1,2 would be a 1, as would any variation of this– 1,1,5 would still be a '1'. If it ever got real complicated-say a 1,4,5– there is a chart in the UIL handbook that rules supreme, but when this happens think of it as being an average of the three divergent scores. So a 1,2,3 comes out to a 2.

At the end of the UIL contest, any band receiving a '1' is eligible to advance to Area in their advancing year. If NO band in an advancing class gets a '1', the 2 highest scoring bands advance. This is sometimes the case in class 1-A or 2-A, but not usually in classes 3-A and up.

At Area, division ratings mean nothing and are not even used. Since the judges are picking State qualifiers, it's all about RANKING the bands. Area contests use 5-judge panels, with 3 judges listening to music and 2 judges adjudicating marching. Again, the judges use detailed scoring rubrics and they assign numerical scores for each of several sub-captions to each band. 1,000 points are possible.

The points DO NOT really matter– what matters is the final RANKING of the bands. At the end of prelims, the ranking scores are added up, and the low score is first. All bands are assigned a rank, any ties are broken using judges' preference ( another whole long explanation, but it's done by formula, NOT discussion) and finalists are announced. The finalist formula can also be complicated, but at least 5 bands advance, with more finalists added depending on the number of bands entered.

In addition, any band with a ranking of '3' or higher from at least 2 music judges and 1 marching judge will also advance. (This is so a band cannot be 'torpedoed' by one particular judge who might not like the group for some reason.)

Finals are scored the same way. The judges do not trade captions. How many bands advance to state again depends on the entry field, with at least 2 bands advancing. If more than ten bands are at a contest, one band for every 5 advances, but no rounding up! If there are 14 bands, only 2 go. 15 means 3, 20 advances 4, and so on.

Again, any band receiving a ranking from 3 or more judgest hat would advance them also gets to go. This would mean a rank of '2' or higher in a small contest, a '3' or higher in one advancing 3 bands, and so on. Again, this is to avoid the torpedo attack.